Countywide : Sumner Widens Lead Over LaRouche Follower
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In the recount for the 40th Congressional District’s Democratic primary, county Democratic Party Chairman Bruce Sumner widened his lead Wednesday by 759 votes over Art Hoffmann, a follower of political extremist Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr.
By Wednesday afternoon, 415 of the coastal district’s 705 precincts had been recounted by hand and Sumner had 15,910 votes to Hoffmann’s 15,151 from the June 3 election, Registrar of Voters Al Olson said. The recount may take two more weeks, Olson added.
Sumner, a retired judge, waged a well-financed write-in campaign to prevent Hoffmann, a technical writer, from becoming the Democratic standard bearer for the 40th District. Initially a machine count showed Sumner had won by 1,459 votes, but a later hand tally found Hoffmann ahead by 267 votes.
The winner will face five-term incumbent Rep. Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach) in November.
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